by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack
NYC, Feb 9 – Amid the beauties and betrayals of Manhattan Chinatown, on February 9 there was a scheduling announcement: "9 a.m. – New York City Mayor Eric Adams makes a public space-related announcement, related to a key commitment made in his 2024 State of the City address, Kimlau Square, Chatham Square and East Broadway."
Inner City Press went to cover the event, which consisted of speeches not only by elected officials including Congressman Dan Goldman and Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine (who joked he would made his introduction as an avenger into a memo) but also by a few local activists and planner.
Mayor Adams arrived late in the program, spoke and then took questions. Inner City Press asked him about community opposition to the Chinatown high-rise jail project on Baxter Street, and to a shelter set to be in at 91 East Broadway. How did listening to the community apply to those?
The jail, Mayor Adams blamed on the City Council. (This heartened back to finger pointing all the way back in the Board of Estimate, about the jail site, in 1984). He did not answer on the shelter, much less about Comptroller Brad Lander's Fair Share report, cited in the failed lawsuit against the project.
Afterward, Inner City Press interviewed NYS Secretary of State Robert J. Rodriguez, who said that this round of listening began in earnest in 2021, but that plans to refurbish Park Row, which runs by the SDNY courthouse and now-empty MCC jail, stretch back much longer.
Inner City Press will continue to report on this
***
Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron.
Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
